Irrational Fear
by TheWriter222
Summary: Shori Mizu is Haruka's cousin, and she has come to live with him because her parents are working overseas. Now, Haruka loves water, so what will he do with his cousin who is afraid of the liquid? And how will he and his friends help her get over this irrational fear?
1. Episode 1

**Hello, I am here with a Free! fanfic, believe it or not. Now, I am currently working on an Uta Pri fanfic, so this story will not be updated often. I just wanted to know if I should keep writing this or not. So, please r/r!**

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**Episode 1- Enter: Shori Mizu**

Down the road a figure trudged; up the path she grumbled; and lugging her duffle bag behind her, the black haired girl struggled up the stairs. Finally, she reached the house's front door. She wiped her brow, and rang the door bell. After maybe three minutes, no one came. Puzzled, she repeated the action.

Finally, she was fed up with waiting. She tried to open the door when she felt a hand on her shoulder, "What are you doing?" The girl turned around to find herself staring at a boy's chest. She looked up and could his face. He had brilliant green eyes and greenish brown hair.

"I'm here to see Nanase Haruka," she replied.

"Why?"

"Family matters."

The boy nodded. He gestured for her to follow him, and she did. The pair went to the back of the house. The boy opened the unlocked door, and entered the house. The scene the two found themselves seeing was, well, unique. A black haired boy stood at a grill in just a bathing suit and apron, grilling, of all things, mackerel. "Really Haru? Mackerel for breakfast? Again?" The brunette asked the cook.

The other boy nodded silently, "Well, I found this girl outside, Haru. She says she needs to speak with you about family matters," he introduced the girl.

Haru looked over at her, his brilliant blue eyes widened slightly, "Shori?"

She nodded, "It's been a while Haruka."

The other boy looked in between them, sensing a tense air, "Um, would you like to introduce me, Haru?"

"This is my cousin, Shori Mizu. Shori, this is my friend Makoto," he replied.

Shori nodded, "Ah, so your the famous Makoto Haru's told me so much about."

Haru carried his mackerel to the table and began eating. He paused to looked at his relative, "Why are you here, Shori?"

She scoffed, "Did you forget already? My parents are being moved because of work. They can't take me with, so I have to live with you now."

Haru nodded after taking a bite of mackerel, "Alright. So you are going to be going to Iwatobi High School, right?"

Shori nodded, "That's right."

"Go put your bags in the guest bedroom upstairs and wait for me while I change," he said to the girl.

Doing as she was told, Shori soon came to wait with Makoto by the door. Having not received her Iwatobi uniform, Shori was attending her first day wearing dark blue jeans, a light blue shirt, and her black hair in a braid which hing over her left shoulder. Soon, her cousin descended the stairs, and the three made their way outside.

None could foretell what the arrival of Shori Mizu would mean for Iwatobi High School- nor that she would have an even bigger impact on the Iwatobi Swim Club.

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**Alright, please review! If I get ten reviews saying to update or keep writing, I will attempt to update this soon without getting killed by my Uta Pri followers. Thank You for reading!**

**I don't own Free!**


	2. Episode 2

**Yo, I'm back. So, I have been writing like crazy this past week. Mostly in my Uta Pri fic, but I decided to write something here as well. Um, if some of the character are a little OOC, then gomen. I haven't seen them in a while, but I tried my best.**

**So, I'm dedicating this chapter to all the people who bothered reading this, you are awesome.**

**I don't own Free! Iwatobi Swim Club, only Shori Mizu**

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**Episode 2- Something she loved drawing**

Haru stared out the window, gazing at the sea. He so wanted to go and swim, but he was stuck behind this desk.

Makoto sat next to Haruka, watching the girl introduce herself at the front of the class. He wondered what had caused to two cousins to be so cold to each other.

Shori stood in the front of the class. "Ohayo gozaimas. I'm Shori Mizu, Haruka Nanase's cousin." Haru perked up when he heard his name, his eyes still rested on the sea. "My parents are going out of the country, so I'm staying with Haru-chan. It's a pleasure to meet you." She bowed respectfully.

The teacher directed her to a seat in the back, in front of Haruka. The morning went by uneventful, and soon lunch came around. Shori followed Haruka and Makoto up stairs and onto the roof. They sat down, and opened their lunches.

"So, Mizu-chan, where did you go to school before Iwatobi?" Makoto asked.

Shori swallowed the tea she had just drank, "I went to Seirin High School. And, please just Shori will do."

"Interesting," he replied. "So, do you have any hobbies?"

"I enjoy reading, writing, and drawing, although I'm not to great at the latter," she replied brightly. "I actually was managing the basketball club in my old school."

Makoto was going to reply when a bouncy voice yelled out, "Haru-chan! Mako-chan!"

Shori looked up and saw three second years heading towards them- a girl with maroon colored hair and matching eyes; a boy with purple eyes and blue-ish hair; and a blond boy with pink eyes who looked to be the one calling out to them.

"Oh, hello," Makoto replied.

The blond boy beamed at the older boy, "Is Rin-chan transferring this year?"

"We aren't sure," Makoto replied. "Anyway, this is Shori Mizu, Haru's cousin."

"Hi," Shori said, raising a hand. "It's nice to meet you."

He smiled brightly, "It's nice to meet you, Shori-chan! I'm Nagisa Hazuki."

The blue-haired boy pushed up his red glasses, "My name is Rei Ryugazaki. It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Mizu-senpai."

Shori giggled, "Just Shori will do, Rei-kun."

"My name is Gou Matsuoka, but everyone calls me Kou," the girl said.

Shori smiled, "It's nice to meet you all."

Nagisa bounced as he said, "Are you going to join to swim club, Shori-chan?"

"S-swim club?" Shori stuttered. "N-no I don't think so."

"Aww, but it's fun! I know you'll enjoy swimming!" Nagisa replied, slightly crestfallen.

Shori replied, "No, Nagisa-kun, I'm fine. I don't like swimming."

"Isn't your last name Mizu?" Rei deducted. "Mizu means water, so why wouldn't you like swimming?"

"That doesn't have to define anything!" Shori replied fiercely. "I don't have to anything I don't want to do!" She got up suddenly, and stormed off. The boys and Gou stared after as she left. Haru sighed. He gathered up his lunch things as well as Shori's and wordlessly walked after her.

_*waves*_

Shori sat under a cherry tree, sulking. Great, she had just met those boys, and she had already blown a casket. She brought her knees up towards her face, and buried her face in them. She was such a fool.

Someone cleared their throat above her. A man with maroon hair a bit lighter than Gou's stared down at her. "What are you going to gain by sulking?" he said harshly. "If you've done or said something wrong, go fix it."

"When did you get here?" another voice said suddenly. Haru stood nearby, looking at the man. "I thought you weren't going to transfer."

"I changed my mind," the man replied.

"Ano," Shori said uncertainly, "who are you?"

"Hm," the man looked at her. "My name is Rin Mastuoka. You are?"

"Shori Mizu, Haru's cousin," she replied.

He looked surprised, "Really? I'm guessing you're going to join the swim club then."

"No! I am not joining some stupid swim club!" Shori exploded. "I don't understand why everyone thinks I will."

"Shori," Haruka said, kneeling down next to her, "let me help you. We can get you over this fear, I promise." She looked up at him, tears brimming her eyes.

"Haru, what is she afraid of?" Rin asked.

Haru looked at Shori, and she gave a curt nod- yes, you can tell him. "Ironically, Shori is afraid of water."

"Eh?"

_*waves*_

The afternoon went by fast. Makoto hadn't asked about Shori's outburst, only giving her a reassuring smile. Rin, as it happened, was in a different class from the three, so they would only see him after school or during lunch. Why Shori trusted him with her secret, not even she knew.

But they would all know sooner or later, and Shori choose later.

Of course, since Shori _did_ have the worst luck, she had forgotten how to get back home, forcing her to stay with Haruka and the guys during their club activities.

She sat in a chair, her sketch book in her hands. The boys, minus Haru, had a cow when Rin showed up. They blamed him for being a bad friend, not telling them of his arrival. The practice went on soon after.

Shori was in awe of the beauty of their swimming. Yes, she was unlike Gou who marveled their muscles, for she loved the way they moved through the water, and how the droplets of the liquid sprayed about.

Though, throughout her onlooking, she made sure to stay far away. Water may look beautiful, but Shori knew it was dangerous and unpredictable.

She sketch the scene before her, the boys swimming gracefully, the water spraying about. No matter how much she feared the water, it was something to draw. Something she loved drawing.

The irony just kept growing.

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**So, let me clear this up, because I know I'll be asked this:**

**Shori is afraid of large bodies of water. i.e. a pool, the ocean, etc. She's fine with water to drink and baths and such.**

**I hope you liked this, and stay tuned to find out what happens next!**

**The more reviews I get, the more likely I'll update! **


	3. Episode 3

**Gomen, Gomen, GOMEN! I'm so sorry for the late update. I've been working on The New Song and sorta had no ideas for this. I finally wrote it though, so I'll try to get another update soon.**

**Here we find out more about Shori's past.**

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**Episode 3- Brother**

_Crash_. The sound of the waves against the shore.

Shori looked out over the sea. "Aoki! Don't swim out to far, okay?" she called. Aoki, her little brother, was swimming in the sea with Haruka.

"Don't worry, Shori-nee! I'll be fine- Haru is with me!" he called back to her. Her cousin sent her a reassuring wave.

The sun was setting, and clouds hung above them. Shori itched to draw the sun setting, but she kept her eyes on the boys. Suddenly, a wave crashed on their heads, and thunder cracked above them. She took a step towards the water, "Aoki?"

Haru surfaced close to shore. "Aoki!" she called. The rain came crashing down, and the waves got higher. Aoki's head bobbed up a few meters from shore, then was dragged down again. "Aoki!" she hollered.

Shori began to enter the water, but Haru stopped her. "I'll get him, wait here." He dove back into the water, and swam towards the boy. Shori watched, helpless. She held a hand to her mouth, and stepped a few steps into the water. She clutched her heart, Aoki hadn't come up yet.

"Haru," she whispered, "please save him."

XoXoX

Shori stared out over the school grounds. That haunting dream, why had it come back again? She sighed, and faced the boys who sat in front of her. Haru sat next to her, Makoto on her other side. Nagisa and Rei were across from her, and Rin was next to Haru.

Makoto nudged her, "Were you thinking about something, Shori-chan?"

"Hm? Oh, nothing," she replied, taking a bite from her bento.

Rin stared at her, and Shori stared back. He cleared his throat, and looked away suddenly. Getting up, he excused himself, and headed down stairs.

Nagisa got up soon after, "I say that we have a race today!"

"A race? Between whom?" Rei asked.

Nagisa smiled, "Between Haru-chan and Shori-chan!"

Shori's eyes went wide, and she waved her hands in front of her face, "N-no, that's f-fine, Nagisa-kun. We don't need to race."

Nagisa grabbed her hand, "You'll be fine, Shori-chan! It's for fun, we don't expect you to win."

"I-I don't have a swim suit," she said, desperate to save the situation.

"We have some extra."

"I'm very out of practice."

"It'll be like riding a bike, you'll remember."

"She doesn't have to do this if she doesn't want to," Makoto said softly, but sternly. He smiled at Shori. She swore her heart skipped a beat.

"Aww. Come on, Shori-chan, please?" Nagisa begged.

Rei put a hand on his shoulder, and shook his head. Nagisa frowned, defeated. Shori sent a thankful glance at the brunette and bluenette. After gathering their things, the group went their separate ways to class.

oXoXo

Practice had ended. The team stood at one end of the pool, taking to Gou about upcoming tournaments and such. Shori began walking from the other end, her sketchbook in hand. She had taken to, reluctantly, staying after to watch the boys swim. She spent one day alone in Haru's large house, and decided that the poolside was more interesting. Even though her heart leaped when she came close to the side.

Drawing the boys swim was now a part of her routine. Shori's sketchbook was filled with pages of the swimmers and their various strokes. Shori opened her pad and flipped through it. She examined the sketch she had done of Rin, and decided that it needed some tuning.

So deeply wrapped into her drawing, she didn't notice a puddle of water, and slipped. Shori's sketchbook fell open on the pool deck, while she fell into the water with a loud _splash_.

Shori faintly heard two faint splashes that followed, and closed her eyes. Paralyzed, her lungs begged for air. Her mind compromised with her body, and opened her mouth, water spilling inside.

Down her air deprived throat it went. Shori's mind went blank, except for one, clear memory.

XoXoX

Shori knelt in the sand. The cold body of her brother was on the sand next to her, and Haru was desperately performing CPR on the ten year old boy.

Leaning up, Haru gave her a sad look, "I'm sorry."

Shori leaned down slowly, and pressed her head to the boy's chest. Tears flowed from her eyes and she felt a hand on her shoulder. "The paramedics are here."

She felt herself being led away from him, but Shori was in a daze. Aoki wasn't really gone, her couldn't be. A man asked if they were family, and Haru answered. They were permitted to ride with him, but Shori knew in the back of her mind that their efforts would be fruitless. Her beloved little brother was gone.

She looked up at her twelve year old cousin, and whispered, "You said you would protect him."

"Shori, I'm sorry. There was nothing I could do. The waves were too high, and the sea changed so quickly," Haru said softly.

Shori looked at her brother, "That's right. Water did this. The sea took him."

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**Interesting, huh?**

**So, until next time, guys.**

**Ja Ne!**

**(feel free to PM me ideas for chapter, I'll take them into consideration. Even if I don't reply, I read it)**


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